Apparatus and method for adjusting a vehicle component

ABSTRACT

A seat adjustment apparatus for adjusting a seat in a passenger compartment of a vehicle including wave sensors for transmitting waves into the passenger compartment toward the seat, receiving reflected waves from the passenger compartment and generating an output representative of the reflected waves received by the wave sensors, weight sensors associated with the seat for measuring the weight applied onto the seat and generating an output representative of the measured weight applied onto the seat and a processor for receiving the outputs from the wave sensors and the weight sensors and evaluating the seated-state of the seat based thereon. The processor directs a control unit to cause a portion of the seat to move based on the evaluation of the seated-state of the seat.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 08/474,783 filed Jun. 7, 1995 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,707) anda continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/970,822filed Nov. 14, 1997.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to apparatus and methods for adjusting avehicle component, system or subsystem in which the occupancy of a seat,also referred to as the "seated state" herein, is evaluated usingsensors and the component, system or subsystem may then be adjustedbased on the evaluated occupancy thereof. The vehicle component, systemor subsystem, hereinafter referred to simply as a component, may be anyadjustable component of the vehicle including, but not limited to, thebottom portion and backrest of the seat, the rear view and side mirrors,the brake, clutch and accelerator pedals, the steering wheel, thesteering column, a seat armrest, a cup holder, the mounting unit for acellular telephone or another communications or computing device and thevisors. Further, the component may be a system such an as airbag system,the deployment of which is controlled based on the seated-state of theseat. The component may also be an adjustable portion of a system theoperation of which might be advantageously adjusted based on theseated-state of the seat, such as a device for regulating the inflationor deflation of an airbag that is associated with an airbag system.

The present invention also relates to apparatus and method forautomatically adjusting a vehicle component to a selected or optimumposition for an occupant of a seat based on two measured morphologicalcharacteristics of the occupant. Morphological characteristics includethe weight of the occupant, the height of the occupant, the length ofthe occupant's arms, the length of the occupant's legs, the occupant'shead diameter and the inclination of the occupant's back relative to theseat bottom. Other morphological characteristics are also envisioned foruse in the invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Automobiles equipped with airbags are well known in the prior art. Insuch airbag systems, the car crash is sensed and the airbags rapidlyinflated thereby ensuring the safety of an occupation in a car crash.Many lives have now been saved by such airbag systems. However,depending on the seated state of an occupant, there are cases where hisor her life cannot be saved even by present airbag systems. For example,when a passenger is seated on the front passenger seat in a positionother than a forward facing, normal state, e.g., when the passenger isout of position and near the deployment door of the airbag, there willbe cases when the occupant will be seriously injured or even killed bythe deployment of the airbag.

Also, sometimes a child seat is placed on the passenger seat in a rearfacing position and there are cases where a child sitting in such a seathas been seriously injured or killed by the deployment of the airbag.

Furthermore, in the case of a vacant seat, there is no need to deploy anairbag, and in such a case, deploying the airbag is undesirable due to ahigh replacement cost and possible release of toxic gases into thepassenger compartment. Nevertheless, most airbag systems will deploy theairbag in a vehicle crash even if the seat is unoccupied.

For these reasons, there has been proposed a seated-state detecting unitsuch as disclosed in the following U.S. Patents and Patent applications,which are included herein by reference, assigned to the current assigneeof the present application: Breed et al (U.S. Pat. No. 5,563,462); Breedet al (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/640,068 filed Apr. 30, 1996);Breed et al (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/474,783 filed Jun. 7,1995): Breed et al (U.S. Pat. No. 5,694,320); Breed et al (U.S. Pat. No.5,748,473); and Varga et al (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/798,029filed Feb. 6, 1997). Typically, in some of these designs four sets ofsensors are installed at four points in a vehicle passenger compartmentfor transmitting ultrasonic or electromagnetic waves toward thepassenger or driver's seat and receiving the reflected waves. Usingappropriate hardware and software, the approximate configuration of theoccupancy of either the passenger or driver seat can be determinedthereby identifying and categorizing the occupancy of the relevant seat.

However, in the aforementioned literature using ultrasonics, the patternof reflected ultrasonic waves from an adult occupant who may be out ofposition is sometimes similar to the pattern of reflected waves from arear facing child seat. Also, it is sometimes difficult to discriminatethe wave pattern of a normally seated child with the seat in a rearfacing position from an empty seat with the seat in a more forwardposition. In other cases, the reflected wave pattern from a thinslouching adult with raised knees can be similar to that from a rearfacing child seat. In still other cases, the reflected pattern from apassenger seat which is in a forward position can be similar to thereflected wave pattern from a seat containing a forward facing childseat or a child sitting on the passenger seat. In each of these cases,the prior art ultrasonic systems can suppress the deployment of anairbag when deployment is desired or, alternately, can enable deploymentwhen deployment is not desired.

If the discrimination between these cases can be improved, then thereliability of the seated-state detecting unit can be improved and morepeople saved from death or serious injury. In addition, the unnecessarydeployment of an airbag can be prevented.

With respect to the adjustment of a vehicular seat, the adjustment of anautomobile seat occupied by a driver of the vehicle is now accomplishedby the use of either electrical switches and motors or by mechanicallevers. As a result, the driver's seat is rarely placed at the properdriving position which is defined as the seat location which places theeyes of the driver in the so-called "eye ellipse" and permits him or herto comfortably reach the pedals and steering wheel. The "eye ellipse" isthe optimum eye position relative to the windshield and rear view mirrorof the vehicle.

The eye ellipse, which is actually an ellipsoid, is rarely achieved bythe actions of the driver for a variety of reasons. One specific reasonis the poor design of most seat adjustment systems particularly theso-called "4-way-seat". It is known that there are three degrees offreedom of a seat bottom, namely vertical, longitudinal, and rotationabout the lateral or pitch axis. The 4-way-seat provides four motions tocontrol the seat: (1) raising or lowering the front of the seat, (2)raising or lowering the back of the seat, (3) raising or lowering theentire seat, (4) moving the seat fore and aft. Such a seat adjustmentsystem causes confusion since there are four control motions for threedegrees of freedom. As a result, vehicle occupants are easily frustratedby such events as when the control to raise the seat is exercised, theseat not only is raised but is also rotated. Occupants thus find itdifficult to place the seat in the optimum location using this systemand frequently give up trying leaving the seat in an improper drivingposition

Many vehicles today are equipped with a lumbar support system that isnever used by most occupants. One reason is that the lumbar supportcannot be preset since the shape of the lumbar for different occupantsdiffers significantly, i.e., a tall person has significantly differentlumbar support requirements than a short person. Without knowledge ofthe size of the occupant, the lumbar support cannot be automaticallyadjusted.

As discussed in the above referenced '320 patent, in approximately 95%of the cases where an occupant suffers a whiplash injury, the headrestis not properly located to protect him or her in a rear impactcollision. Also, the stiffness and damping characteristics of a seat arefixed and no attempt is made in any production vehicle to adjust thestiffness and damping of the seat in relation to the size either orweight of an occupant, or to the environmental conditions such as roadroughness. All of these adjustments, if they are to be doneautomatically, require knowledge of the morphology of the seat occupant.

Systems are now being used to attempt to identify the vehicle occupantbased on a coded key or other object carried by the occupant. Thisrequires special sensors within the vehicle to recognize the codedobject. Also, the system only works if the coded object is used by theparticular person for whom the vehicle was programmed. If the vehicle isused by a son or daughter, for example, who use their mother's key thenthe wrong seat adjustments are made. Also, these systems preserve thechoice of seat position without any regard for the correctness of theseat position. With the problems associated with the 4-way seats, it isunlikely that the occupant ever properly adjusts the seat. Therefore,the error will be repeated every time the occupant uses the vehicle.

Moreover, these coded systems are a crude attempt to identify theoccupant. An improvement can be made if the morphologicalcharacteristics of the occupant can be measured as described below. Suchmeasurements can be made of the height and weight, for example, and usednot only to adjust a vehicular component to a proper position but alsoto remember that position, as fine tuned by the occupant, forre-positioning the component the next time the occupant occupies theseat. For the purposes herein, a morphological characteristic will meanany measurable property of a human such as height, weight, leg or armlength, head diameter etc.

As discussed more fully below, in a preferred implementation, once atleast one and preferably two of the morphological characteristics of adriver are determined, e.g., by measuring his or her height and weight,the component such as the seat can be adjusted and other features orcomponents can be incorporated into the system including, for example,the automatic adjustment of the rear view and/or side mirrors based onseat position and occupant height. In addition, a determination of anout-of-position occupant can be made and based thereon, airbagdeployment suppressed if the occupant is more likely to be injured bythe airbag than by the accident without the protection of the airbag.Furthermore, the characteristics of the airbag including the amount ofgas produced by the inflator and the size of the airbag exit orificescan be adjusted to provide better protection for small lightweightoccupants as well as large, heavy people. Even the direction of theairbag deployment can, in some cases, be controlled.

Still other features or components can now be adjusted based on themeasured occupant morphology as well as the fact that the occupant cannow be identified. Some of these features or components include theadjustment of seat armrest, cup holder, steering wheel (angle andtelescoping), pedals, phone location and for that matter the adjustmentof all things in the vehicle which a person must reach or interact with.Some items that depend on personal preferences can also be automaticallyadjusted including the radio station, temperature, ride and others.

Most, if not all, of the problems discussed above are difficult to solveor unsolvable using conventional technology.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention toprovide new and improved vehicular component adjustment apparatus andmethods which evaluate the occupancy of the seat and adjust the locationand/or orientation relative to the occupant and/or operation of a partof the component or the component in its entirety based on the evaluatedoccupancy of the seat.

It is another object of the present invention to provide new andimproved adjustment apparatus and methods that evaluate the occupancy ofthe seat and adjust the location and/or orientation relative to theoccupant and/or operation of a part of the component or the component inits entirety based on the evaluated occupancy of the seat and on ameasurement of the approximate height of the occupant and/or ameasurement of the occupant's weight.

It is another object of the present invention to provide new andimproved adjustment apparatus and methods that evaluate the occupancy ofthe seat by a combination of ultrasonic sensors and additional sensorsand adjust the location and/or orientation relative to the occupantand/or operation of a part of the component or the component in itsentirety based on the evaluated occupancy of the seat.

It is another object of the present invention to provide new andimproved adjustment apparatus and methods that reliably discriminatebetween a normally seated passenger and a forward facing child seat,between an abnormally seated passenger and a rear facing child seat, andwhether or not the seat is empty and adjust the location and/ororientation relative to the occupant and/or operation of a part of thecomponent or the component in its entirety based thereon.

It is another object of the present invention to provide new andimproved adjustment apparatus and methods that evaluate the occupancy ofthe seat without the problems mentioned above.

Additional objects and advantages of this invention include:

1. To provide a system for passively and automatically adjusting theposition of a vehicle component to a near optimum location based on thesize of an occupant.

2. To provide a system for recognizing a particular occupant of avehicle and thereafter adjusting various components of the vehicle inaccordance with the preferences of the recognized occupant.

3. To provide systems for approximately locating the eyes of a vehicledriver to thereby permit the placement of the driver's eyes at aparticular location in the vehicle.

4. To provide a pattern recognition system to permit more accuratelocation of an occupant's head and the parts thereof and to use thisinformation to adjust a vehicle component.

5. To provide a method of determining whether a seat is occupied and, ifnot, leaving the seat at a neutral position.

6. To provide a system for automatically adjusting the position ofvarious components of the vehicle to permit safer and more effectiveoperation of the vehicle including the location of the pedals andsteering wheel.

7. To determine whether an occupant is out-of-position relative to theairbag and if so, to suppress deployment of the airbag in a situation inwhich the airbag would otherwise be deployed.

8. To adjust the flow of gas into and out of the airbag based on themorphology and position of the occupant to improve the performance ofthe airbag in reducing occupant injury.

9. To provide a system where the morphological characteristics of anoccupant are measured by sensors located within the seat.

Further objects of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing discussion of the preferred embodiments of the invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A most basic embodiment of the apparatus in accordance with inventionincludes a first measuring system for measuring a first morphologicalcharacteristic of the occupying item of the seat and a second measuringsystem for measuring a second morphological characteristic of theoccupying item. Morphological characteristic include the weight of theoccupying item, the height of the occupying item from the bottom portionof the seat and if the occupying item is a human, the arm length, headdiameter and leg length. The apparatus also includes processor means forreceiving the output of the first and second measuring systems and forprocessing the outputs to evaluate a seated-state based on the outputs.The measuring systems described herein, as well as any otherconventional measuring systems, may be used in the invention to measurethe morphological characteristics of the occupying item.

One preferred embodiment of an adjustment system in accordance with theinvention includes a plurality of wave-receiving sensors for receivingwaves from the seat and its contents, if any, and one or more weightsensors for detecting weight of an occupant in the seat or an absence ofweight applied onto the seat indicative of a vacant seat. The apparatusalso includes processor means for receiving the output of thewave-receiving sensors and the weight sensor(s) and for processing theoutputs to evaluate a seated-state based on the outputs. The processormeans then adjusts adjust a part of the component or the component inits entirety based at least on the evaluation of the seated-state of theseat. The wave-receiving sensors may be ultrasonic sensors, opticalsensors or electromagnetic sensors. If the wave-receiving sensors areultrasonic or optical sensors, then they may also include transmittermeans for transmitting ultrasonic or optical waves toward the seat.

If the component is a seat, the system includes power means for movingat least one portion of the seat relative to the passenger compartmentand control means connected to the power means for controlling the powermeans to move the portion(s) of the seat. In this case, the processormeans may direct the control means to affect the power means based atleast in part on the evaluation of the seated-state of the seat. Withrespect to the direction or regulation of the control means by theprocessor means, this may take the form of a regulation signal to thecontrol means that no seat adjustment is needed, e.g., if the seat isoccupied by a bag of groceries or a child seat in a rear orforward-facing position as determined by the evaluation of the outputfrom the ultrasonic or optical and weight sensors. On the other hand, ifthe processor means determines that the seat is occupied by an adult orchild for which adjustment of the seat is beneficial or desired, thenthe processor means may direct the control means to affect the powermeans accordingly. For example, if a child is detected on the seat, theprocessor means may be designed to lower the headrest.

In certain embodiments, the apparatus may include one or more sensorseach of which measures a morphological characteristic of the occupyingitem of the seat, e.g., the height or weight of the occupying item, andthe processor means are arranged to obtain the input from these sensorsand adjust the component accordingly. Thus, once the processor meansevaluates the occupancy of the seat and determines that the occupancy isby an adult or child, then the processor means may additionally useeither the obtained weight measurement or conduct additionalmeasurements of morphological characteristics of the adult or childoccupant and adjust the component accordingly. The processor means maybe a single microprocessor for performing all of the functions describedabove. In the alternative, one microprocessor may be used for evaluatingthe occupancy of the seat and another for adjusting the component.

The processor means may comprise an evaluation circuit implemented inhardware as an electronic circuit or in software as a computer program.

In certain embodiments, a correlation function or state between theoutput of the various sensors and the desired result (i.e., seatoccupancy identification and categorization) is determined, e.g., by aneural network that may be implemented in hardware as a neural computeror in software as a computer program. The correlation function or statethat is determined by employing this neural network may also becontained in a microcomputer. In this case, the microcomputer can beemployed as an evaluation circuit. The word circuit herein will be usedto mean both an electronic circuit and the fuctional equivalentimplemented on a microcomputer using software.

In enhanced embodiments, a heart beat sensor may be provided fordetecting the heart beat of the occupant and generating an outputrepresentative thereof. The processor means additionally receive thisoutput and evaluate the seated-state of the seat based in part thereon.In addition to or instead of such a heart beat sensor, a capacitivesensor and/or a motion sensor may be provided. The capacitive sensordetects the presence of the occupant and generates an outputrepresentative of the presence of the occupant. The motion sensordetects movement of the occupant and generates an output representativethereof. These outputs are provided to the processor means for possibleuse in the evaluation of the seated-state of the seat.

The portion of the apparatus which includes the ultrasonic, optical orelectromagnetic sensors, weight measuring means and processor meanswhich evaluate the occupancy of the seat based on the measured weight ofthe seat and its contents and the returned waves from the ultrasonic,optical or electromagnetic sensors may be considered to constitute aseated-state detecting unit.

The seated-state detecting unit may further comprise a seat trackposition-detecting sensor. This sensor determines the position of theseat on the seat track in the forward and aft direction. In this case,the evaluation circuit evaluates the seated-state, based on acorrelation function obtain from outputs of the ultrasonic sensors, anoutput of the one or more weight sensors, and an output of the seattrack position detecting sensor. With this structure, there is theadvantage that the identification between the flat configuration of adetected surface in a state where a passenger is not sitting in the seatand the flat configuration of a detected surface which is detected whena seat is slid backwards by the amount of the thickness of a passenger,that is, of identification of whether a passenger seat is vacant oroccupied by a passenger, can be reliably performed.

Furthermore, the seated-state detecting unit may also comprise areclining angle detecting sensor, and the evaluation circuit may alsoevaluate the seated-state based on a correlation function obtained fromoutputs of the ultrasonic, optical or electromagnetic sensors, an outputof the weight sensor(s), and an output of the reclining angle detectingsensor. In this case, if the tilted angle information of the backportion of the seat is added as evaluation information for theseated-state, identification can be clearly performed between the flatconfiguration of a surface detected when a passenger is in a slightlyslouching state and the configuration of a surface detected when theback portion of a seat is slightly tilted forward and similardifficult-to-discriminate cases. This embodiment may even be combinedwith the output from a seat track position-detecting sensor to furtherenhance the evaluation circuit.

Moreover, the seated-state detecting unit may further comprise acomparison circuit for comparing the output of the weight sensor(s) witha reference value. In this case, the evaluation circuit identifies anadult and a child based on the reference value.

Preferably, the seated-state detecting unit comprises: a plurality ofultrasonic, optical or electromagnetic sensors for transmittingultrasonic or electromagnetic waves toward a seat and receivingreflected waves from the seat; one or more weight sensors for detectingweight of a passenger in the seat; a seat track position detectingsensor; a reclining angle detecting sensor; and a neural network circuitto which outputs of the ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensors and theweight sensor(s), an output of the seat track position detecting sensor,and an output of the reclining angle detecting sensor are inputted andwhich evaluates several kinds of seated-states, based on a correlationfunction obtained from the outputs.

The kinds of seated-states that can be evaluated and categorized by theneural network include the following categories, among others, (i) anormally seated passenger and a forward facing child seat, (ii) anabnormally seated passenger and a rear-facing child seat, and (iii) avacant seat.

The seated-state detecting unit may further comprise a comparisoncircuit for comparing the output of the weight sensor(s) with areference value and a gate circuit to which the evaluation signal and acomparison signal from the comparison circuit are input. This gatecircuit, which may be implemented in software or hardware, outputssignals which evaluates several kinds of seated-states. These kinds ofseated-states can include a (i) normally seated passenger, (ii) aforward facing child seat, (iii) an abnormally seated passenger, (iv) arear facing child seat, and (v) a vacant seat. With this arrangement,the identification between a normally seated passenger and a forwardfacing child seat, the identification between an abnormally seatedpassenger and a rear facing child seat, and the identification of avacant seat can be more reliably performed.

The outputs of the plurality of ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensors,the output of the weight sensor(s), the outputs of the seat trackposition detecting sensor, and the outputs of the reclining angledetecting sensor are inputted to the neural network or other patternrecognition circuit, and the neural network circuit determines thecorrelation function, based on training thereof during a training phase.The correlation function is then typically implemented in orincorporated into a microcomputer. For the purposes herein, neuralnetwork will be used to include both a single neural network, aplurality of neural networks, and other similar pattern recognitioncircuits or algorithms and combinations thereof.

To provide the input from the ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensors tothe neural network circuit, it is preferable that an initial reflectedwave portion and a last reflected wave portion are removed from each ofthe reflected waves of the ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensors andthen the output data is processed. The neural network circuit determinesthe correlation function by performing a weighting process, based onoutput data from the plurality of ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensors,output data from the weight sensor(s), output data from the seat trackposition detecting sensor if present, and/or on output data from thereclining angle detecting sensor if present.

With this arrangement, the portions of the reflected ultrasonic orelectromagnetic wave that do not contain useful information are removedfrom the analysis and the presence and recognition of an object on thepassenger seat can be more accurately performed.

In a disclosed method for determining the occupancy of a seat in apassenger compartment of a vehicle in accordance with the invention,waves such as ultrasonic or electromagnetic waves are transmitted intothe passenger compartment toward the seat, reflected waves from thepassenger compartment are received by a component which then generatesan output representative thereof, the weight applied onto the seat ismeasured and an output is generated representative thereof and then theseated-state of the seat is evaluated based on the outputs from thesensors and the weight measuring means.

The evaluation the seated-state of the seat may be accomplished bygenerating a function correlating the outputs representative of thereceived reflected waves and the measured weight and the seated-state ofthe seat, and incorporating the correlation function into amicrocomputer. In the alternative, it is possible to generate a functioncorrelating the outputs representative of the received reflected wavesand the measured weight and the seated-state of the seat in a neuralnetwork circuit, and execute the function using the outputsrepresentative of the received reflected waves and the measured weightas input into the neural network circuit.

To enhance the seated-state determination, the position of a seat trackof the seat is measured and an output representative thereof isgenerated, and then the seated-state of the seat is evaluated based onthe outputs representative of the received reflected waves, the measuredweight and the measured seat track position. In addition to or insteadof measuring the seat track position, it is possible to measure thereclining angle of the seat, i.e., the angle between the seat portionand the back portion of the seat, and generate an output representativethereof, and then evaluate the seated-state of the seat based on theoutputs representative of the received reflected waves, the measuredweight and the measured reclining angle of the seat (and seat trackposition, if measured).

Furthermore, the output representative of the measured weight may becompared with a reference value, and the occupying object of the seatidentified, e.g., as an adult or a child, based on the comparison of themeasured weight with the reference value.

In additional embodiments, the present invention involves themeasurement of one or more morphological characteristics of a vehicleoccupant and the use of these measurements to classify the occupant asto size and weight, and then to use this classification to position avehicle component, such as the seat, to a near optimum position for thatclass of occupant. Additional information concerning occupantpreferences can also be associated with the occupant class so that whena person belonging to that particular class occupies the vehicle, thepreferences associated with that class are implemented. Thesepreferences and associated component adjustments include the seatlocation after it has been manually adjusted away from the positionchosen initially by the system, the mirror location, temperature, radiostation, steering wheel and steering column positions, etc. Thepreferred morphological characteristics used are the occupant heightfrom the vehicle seat and weight of the occupant. The height isdetermined by sensors, usually ultrasonic or electromagnetic, located inthe headrest or another convenient location. The weight is determined byone of a variety of technologies that measure either pressure on ordisplacement of the vehicle seat or the force in the seat supportingstructure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following drawings are illustrative of embodiments of the inventionand are not meant to limit the scope of the invention as encompassed bythe claims.

FIG. 1 shows a seated-state detecting unit in accordance with thepresent invention and the connections between ultrasonic orelectromagnetic sensors, a weight sensor, a reclining angle detectingsensor, a seat track position detecting sensor, a neural networkcircuit, and an airbag system installed within a vehicle compartment;

FIG. 2 is a view of a passenger seat in the compartment showing therelative layout of the ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensors;

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of the seated-state detecting unit of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 4(a), 4(b) and 4(c) are each a diagram showing the configurationof the reflected waves of an ultrasonic wave transmitted from eachtransmitter of the ultrasonic sensors toward the passenger seat,obtained within the time that the reflected wave arrives at a receiver,FIG. 4(a) showing an example of the reflected waves obtained when apassenger is in a normal seated-state, FIG. 4(b) showing an example ofthe reflected waves obtained when a passenger is in an abnormalseated-state (where the passenger is seated too close to the instrumentpanel), and FIG. 4(c) showing a transmit pulse;

FIG. 5 is a diagram of the data processing of the reflected waves fromthe ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensors;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the training steps of a neural networkcircuit;

FIG. 7(a) is an explanatory diagram of a process for normalizing thereflected wave and shows normalized reflected waves; and

FIG. 7(b) is a diagram similar to FIG. 7(a) showing a step of extractingdata based on the normalized reflected waves and a step of weighting theextracted data by employing the data of the seat track positiondetecting sensor, the data of the reclining angle detecting sensor, andthe data of the weight sensor.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an automatic seat adjustment system,with the seat shown in phantom, with a movable headrest and sensors formeasuring the height of the occupant from the vehicle seat showingmotors for moving the seat and a control circuit connected to thesensors and motors.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the seat shown in FIG. 8 with theaddition of a weight sensor shown mounted onto the seat.

FIG. 9A is a view taken along line 9A--9A in FIG. 9.

FIG. 9B is an enlarged view of the section designated 9B in FIG. 9A.

FIG. 10 is a side plan view of the interior of an automobile, withportions cut away and removed, with two occupant height measuringsensors, one mounted into the headliner above the occupant's head andthe other mounted onto the A-pillar and also showing a seatbeltassociated with the seat wherein the seatbelt has an adjustable upperanchorage point which is automatically adjusted based on the height ofthe occupant.

FIG. 11 is a view of the seat of FIG. 8 showing motors for changing thetilt of seat back and the lumbar support.

FIG. 12 is a view of the seat of FIG. 8 showing a system for changingthe stiffness and the damping of the seat.

FIG. 13 is a view as in FIG. 10 showing a driver and driver seat with anautomatically adjustable steering column and pedal system which isadjusted based on the morphology of the driver.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the interior of the passengercompartment of an automobile, with parts cut away and removed, showing avariety of transmitters that can be used in a phased array system.

FIG. 15 is a view similar to FIG. 8 showing the occupant's eyes and theseat adjusted to place the eyes at a particular vertical position forproper viewing through the windshield and rear view mirror.

FIG. 16 is a view similar to FIG. 8 showing an inflated airbag and anarrangement for controlling both the flow of gas into and the flow ofgas out of the airbag during the crash where the determination is madebased on a height sensor located in the headrest and a weight sensor inthe seat.

FIG. 17A is a schematic drawing of the basic embodiment of theadjustment system in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 17B is a schematic drawing of another basic embodiment of theadjustment system in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numbersdesignate the same or similar elements, FIG. 1 shows a passenger seat 1to which an adjustment apparatus including a seated-state detecting unitaccording to the present invention may be applied. The seat 1 includes ahorizontally situated bottom seat portion 2 and a vertically orientedback portion 3. The seat portion 2 is provided with one or more weightsensors 6 that determine the weight of the object occupying the seat.The coupled portion between the seated portion 2 and the back portion 3is provided with a reclining angle detecting sensor 9, which detects thetilted angle of the back portion 3 relative to the seat portion 2. Theseat portion 2 is provided with a seat track position-detecting sensor10. The seat track position detecting sensor 10 fulfills a role ofdetecting the quantity of movement of the seat 1 which is moved from aback reference position, indicated by the dotted chain line. The seat 1may be the driver seat, the front passenger seat or any other seat in amotor vehicle as well as other seats in transportation vehicles or seatsin nontransportation applications.

Weight measuring means such as the sensor 6 are associated with theseat, e.g., mounted into or below the seat portion 2, for measuring theweight applied onto the seat. The weight may be zero if no occupyingitem is present. Sensor 6 may represent a plurality of different sensorswhich measure the weight applied onto the seat at different portionsthereof or for redundancy purposes, e.g., such as by means of an airbag5 in the seat portion 2. Such sensors may be in the form of force orpressure sensors which measure the force or pressure on the seat or seatback, displacement measuring sensors which measure the displacement ofthe seat surface or the entire seat such as through the use of straingages mounted on the seat structural members or other appropriatelocations, or systems which convert displacement into a pressure whereina pressure sensor can be used as a measure of weight.

As shown in FIG. 2, there are provided four sets of wave-receivingsensor systems 11-14 mounted within the passenger compartment. Each setof sensor systems 11-14 comprises a transmitter and a receiver, whichmay be integrated into a single unit or individual components separatedfrom one another. In this embodiment, the sensor system 11 is mounted onthe upper portion of the front pillar, A-Pillar, of the vehicle. Thesensor system 12 is mounted on the upper portion of the intermediatepillar, B-Pillar. The sensor system 13 is mounted on the roof ceilingportion or the headliner (FIG. 2). The sensor system 14 is mounted nearthe middle of an instrument panel 17 in front of the driver's seat 16(FIG. 2). The sensor systems are preferably ultrasonic orelectromagnetic. Although sensor systems 11-14 are described as beingultrasonic or electromagnetic sensors, the invention is equallyapplicable for other types of sensors (other than ultrasonic orelectromagnetic) which will detect the presence of an occupant from adistance including Capacitive sensors. Also, if the sensor systems 11-14are passive infrared sensors, then they may only comprise awave-receiver.

The ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensor systems 11-14 are controlled ordriven, one at a time or simultaneously, by an appropriate drivercircuit such as ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensor driver circuit 18shown in FIG. 3. The transmitters of the ultrasonic or electromagneticsensor systems 11-14 transmit respective ultrasonic or electromagneticwaves toward the seat 1 and transmit pulses (see FIG. 4(c)) in sequenceat times t1, t2, t3 and t4 (t4>t3>t2>t1 or simultaneously t1=t2=t3=t4).The reflected waves of the ultrasonic or electromagnetic waves arereceived by the receivers ChA-ChD of the ultrasonic or electromagneticsensors 11-14. The receiver ChA is associated with the ultrasonic orelectromagnetic sensor system 13, the receiver ChB is associated withthe ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensor system 14, the receiver ChD isassociated with the ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensor system 11, andthe receiver ChD is associated with the ultrasonic or electromagneticsensor system 12.

The following discussion will apply to the case where ultrasonic sensorsare used although a similar discussion can be presented relative to theuse of electromagnetic sensors such as active infrared sensors, takinginto account the differences in the technologies. Also, the followingdiscussion will relate to an embodiment wherein the seat 1 is the frontpassenger seat. FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) show examples of the reflectedultrasonic waves USRW that are received by receivers ChA-ChD. FIG. 4(a)shows an example of the reflected wave USRW that is obtained when anadult sits in a normally seated space on the passenger seat 1, whileFIG. 4(b) shows an example of the reflected wave USRW that are obtainedwhen an adult sits in a slouching state (one of the abnormalseated-states) in the passenger seat 1.

In the case of a normally seated passenger, as shown in FIG. 2, thelocation of the ultrasonic sensor system 12 is closest to the passengerA. Therefore, the reflected wave pulse P1 is received earliest aftertransmission by the receiver ChD as shown in FIG. 4(a), and the width ofthe reflected wave pulse P1 is larger. Next, the distance from theultrasonic sensor 13 is closer to the passenger A, so a reflected wavepulse P2 is received earlier by the receiver ChA compared with theremaining reflected wave pulses P3 and P4. Since the reflected wavepauses P3 and P4 take more time than the reflected wave pulses P1 and P2to arrive at the receivers ChC and ChB, the reflected wave pulses P3 andP4 are received as the timings shown in FIG. 4(a). More specifically,since it is believed that the distance from the ultrasonic sensor system11 to the passenger A is slightly shorter than the distance from theultrasonic sensor system 14 to the passenger A, the reflected wave pulseP3 is received slightly earlier by the receiver ChC than the reflectedwave pulse P4 is received by the receiver ChB.

In the case where the passenger A is sitting in a slouching state in thepassenger seat 1, the distance between the ultrasonic sensor system 11and the passenger A is shortest. Therefore, the time from transmissionat time t3 to reception is shortest, and the reflected wave pulse P3 isreceived by the receiver ChC, as shown in FIG. 4(b). Next, the distancesbetween the ultrasonic sensor system 14 and the passenger A becomesshorter, so the reflected wave pulse P4 is received earlier by thereceiver ChB than the remaining reflected wave pulses P2 and P1. Whenthe distance from the ultrasonic sensor system 13 to the passenger A iscompared with that from the ultrasonic sensor system 12 to the passengerA, the distance from the ultrasonic sensor system 13 to the passenger Abecomes shorter, so the reflected wave pulse P2 is received by thereceiver ChA first and the reflected wave pulse P1 is thus received lastby the receiver ChD.

The configurations of the reflected wave pulses P1-P4, the times thatthe reflected wave pulses P1-P4 are received, the sizes of the reflectedwave pulses P1-P4 are varied depending upon the configuration andposition of an object such as a passenger situated on the frontpassenger seat 1. FIGS. 4(a) and (b) merely show examples for thepurpose of description and therefore it is a matter of course that thepresent invention is not limited to these examples.

The outputs of the receivers ChA-ChD, as shown in FIG. 3, are input to aband pass filter 20 through a multiplex circuit 19 which is switched insynchronization with a timing signal from the ultrasonic sensor drivecircuit 18. The band pass filter 20 removes a low frequency wavecomponent from the output signal based on each of the reflected waveUSRW and also removes some of the noise. The output signal based on eachof the reflected wave USRW is passed through the band pass filter 20,then is amplified by an amplifier 21. The amplifier also removes thehigh frequency carrier wave component in each of the reflected USRW andgenerates an envelope wave signal. This envelope wave signal is input toan analog/digital converter (ADC) 22 and digitized as measured data. Themeasured data is input to a processing circuit 23, which is controlledby the timing signal which is in turn output from the ultrasonic sensordrive circuit 18.

The processing circuit 23 collects measured data at intervals of 7 ms,and 47 data points are generated for each of the ultrasonic sensorsystems 11-14. For each of these reflected waves USRW, the initialreflected wave portion T1 and the last reflected wave portion T2 are cutoff. The reason for this will be described when the training procedureof a neural network circuit is described later, and the description isomitted for now. With this, 32 data points, 31 data points, 37 datapoints, and 38 data points will be sampled by the ultrasonic sensorsystems 11, 12, 13 and 14, respectively. The reason why the number ofdata points differs for each of the ultrasonic sensor systems 11-14 isthat the distance from the passenger seat 1 to the ultrasonic sensorsystems 11-14 differ from one another.

Each of the measured data is input to a normalization circuit 24 andnormalized. The normalized measured data is input to the neural networkcircuit 25 as wave data.

The output of the weight sensor(s) 6 is amplified by an amplifier 26coupled to the weight sensor(s) 6 and the amplified output is input tothe analog/digital converter 27.

The reclining angle detecting sensor 9 and the seat trackposition-detecting sensor 10, which each may comprise a variableresistor, are connected to constant-current circuits, respectively. Aconstant-current is supplied from the constant-current circuit to thereclining angle detecting sensor 9, and the reclining angle detectingsensor 9 converts a change in the resistance value on the tilt of theback portion 3 to a specific voltage. This output voltage is input to ananalog/digital converter 28 as angle data, i.e., representative of theangle between the back portion 3 and the seat portion 2. Similarly, aconstant current is supplied from the constant-current circuit to theseat track position detecting sensor 10 and the seat track positiondetecting sensor 10 converts a change in the resistance value based onthe track position of the seat portion 2 to a specific voltage. Thisoutput voltage is input to an analog/digital converter 29 as seat trackdata. Thus, the outputs of the reclining angle-detecting sensor 9 andthe seat track position-detecting sensor 10 are input to theanalog/digital converters 28 and 29, respectively. Each digital datavalue from the ADCs 28,29 is input to the neural network circuit 25.Although the digitized data of the weight sensor(s) 6 is input to theneural network circuit 25, the output of the amplifier 26 is also inputto a comparison circuit. The comparison circuit, which is incorporatedin the gate circuit algorithin, determines whether or not the weight ofan object on the passenger seat 1 is more than a predetermined weight,such as 60 lbs., for example. When the weight is more than 60 lbs., thecomparison circuit outputs a logic 1 to the gate circuit to be describedlater. When the weight of the object is less than 60 lbs., a logic 0 isoutput to the gate circuit.

A heartbeat sensor 31 is arranged to detect a heart beat, and themagnitude thereof, of a human occupant of the seat, if such a humanoccupant is present. The output of the heart beat sensor 31 is input tothe neural network circuit 25. The heartbeat sensor 31 may be of thetype as disclosed in McEwan (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,573,012 and 5,766,208which are included herein in their entirety by reference). The heartbeatsensor 31 can be positioned at any convenient position relative the seat1 where occupancy is being monitored. A preferred location is within thevehicle seatback.

A capacitive sensor 32 is arranged to detect the presence of anoccupying item on the seat 1 and the output thereof is input to theneural network circuit 25. Capacitor sensors appropriate for thisfunction are disclosed in Kithil (U.S. Pat. No. 5,602,734 which isincluded herein by reference). Capacitive sensors can in general bemounted at locations 11-14 in FIG. 2.

A motion sensor 33 is arranged to detect motion of an occupying item onthe seat 1 and the output thereof is input to the neural network circuit25. Motion sensors can utilize a micro-power impulse radar (MIR) systemas disclosed, for example, in McEwan (U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,070, which isincluded herein by reference), as well as many other patents by the sameinventor. Motion sensing is accomplished by monitoring a particularrange from the sensor as disclosed in that patent. MIR is one form ofradar which has applicability to occupant sensing and can be mounted atlocations such as 11-14 in FIG. 2. It has an advantage over ultrasonicsensors in that data can be acquired at a higher speed and thus themotion of an occupant can be more easily tracked. The ability to obtainreturns over the entire occupancy range is somewhat more difficult thanwith ultrasound resulting in a more expensive system overall. MIR hasadditional advantages in lack of sensitivity to temperature variationand has a comparable resolution to about 40 kHz ultrasound. Resolutioncomparable to higher frequency is feasible but has not beendemonstrated. Additionally, multiple MIR sensors can be used when highspeed tracking of the motion of an occupant during a crash is requiredsince they can be individually pulsed without interfering with eachthrough time division multiplexing.

The neural network circuit 25 recognizes the seated-state of a passengerA by training as described in several books on Neural Networksreferenced in the above referenced patents and patent applications.Then, after training the seated-state of the passenger A and developingthe neural network weights, the system is tested. The training procedureand the test procedure of the neural network circuit 25 will hereafterbe described with a flowchart shown in FIG. 6.

As diagrammed in FIG. 6, the first step is to mount the four sets ofultrasonic sensor systems 11-14, the weight sensor 6, the recliningangle detecting sensor 9, and the seat track position detecting sensor10 into a vehicle (step S 1). Next, in order to provide data for theneural network circuit 25 to learn the patterns of seated states, datais recorded for patterns of all possible seated states and a list ismaintained recording the seated states for which data was acquired. Thedata from the sensors/transducers 6, 9-14 and 31-33, for a particularoccupancy of the passenger seat is called a vector (step S 2). It shouldbe pointed out that the use of the reclining angle detecting sensor 9,seat track position detecting sensor 10, heart beat sensor 31,capacitive sensor 32 and motion sensor 33 are not essential to thedetecting apparatus and method in accordance with the invention.However, each of these sensors, in combination with any one or more ofthe other sensors would likely enhance the evaluation of theseated-state of the seat.

For the vectors of data, adults and children each with differentpostures, states of windows etc. within the passenger compartment, andoccupied and unoccupied child seats were selected. The selected adultsinclude people with a variety of different physiques such as fat, lean,small, large, tall, short, and glasses wearing persons. The selectedchildren ranged from an infant to a large child (for example, about 14year old). In addition, the selected postures include, for example, asitting state with legs crossed on a seat, a sitting state with legs onan instrument panel, a sitting state while reading a newspaper, a book,or a map, a sitting state while holding a cup of coffee, a cellulartelephone or a dictation machine, and a slouching state with and withoutraised knees. Furthermore, the selected compartment states includevariations in the seat track position, the window-opening amount,headrest position, and varying positions of a sun-visor. Moreover, amultitude of different models of child seats are used in the forwardfacing position and, where appropriate, in a rear facing position. Therange of weights and the corresponding normalized values are as follows:

    ______________________________________                                        Class          Weight Range Normalized Value                                  ______________________________________                                        Empty seat     0 to 2.2 lbs.                                                                              0 to 0.01                                         Rear Facing Child Seat                                                                       2.2 to 60 lbs.                                                                             0.01 to 0.27                                      Forward facing Child Seat                                                                    2.2 to 60 lbs.                                                                             0.01 to 0.27                                      Normal Position Adult                                                                        60 lbs and greater                                                                         0.27 to 1                                         ______________________________________                                    

Obviously, other weight ranges may also be used in accordance with theinvention and each weight range may be tailored to specific conditions,such as different vehicles.

Various vehicle setups were prepared by a combination of thesevariations and, for in this embodiment, almost 500,000 or more vectorsshould be prepared for the patterns to be used as data for the neuralnetwork training.

Next, based on the training data from the reflected waves of theultrasonic sensor systems 11-14 and the other sensors 6, 31-33, thevector data is collected (step S 3). Next, the reflected waves P1-P4 aremodified by removing the initial reflected waves with a short reflectiontime from an object (period T1 in FIG. 5) and the last portion of thereflected waves with a long reflection time from an object (period P2 inFIG. 5) (step S 4). It is believed that the reflected waves with a shortreflection time from an object is a due to cross-talk, that is, wavesfrom the transmitters which leaks into each of their associatedreceivers ChA-ChD. It is also believed that the reflected waves with along reflection time are reflected waves from an object far away fromthe passenger seat or from multipath reflections. If these two reflectedwave portions are used as data, they will add noise to the trainingprocess. Therefore, these reflected wave portions are eliminated fromthe data.

As shown in FIG. 7(a), measured data is normalized by making the peaksof the reflected wave pulses P1-P4 equal (step S 5). This eliminates theeffects of different reflectivities of different objects and peopledepending on the characteristics of their surfaces such as theirclothing Data from the weight sensor, seat track position sensor andseat reclining angle sensor are also normalized based typically on fixednormalization parameters.

Therefore, the normalized data from the ultrasonic transducers the seattrack position detecting sensor 10, the reclining angle detecting sensor9, from the weight sensor(s) 6, from the heart beat sensor 31, thecapacitive sensor 32 and the motion sensor 33 are input to the neuralnetwork circuit 25, and the neural network circuit 25 is then trained onthis data. More specifically, the neural network circuit 25 adds up thenormalized data from the ultrasonic transducers, from the seat trackposition detecting sensor 10, from the reclining angle detecting sensor9, from the weight sensor(s) 6, from the heart beat sensor 31, from thecapacitive sensor 32 and from the motion sensor 33 with each data pointmultiplied by a associated weight according to the conventional neuralnetwork process to determine correlation function (step S 6).

In this embodiment, 144 data points are appropriately interconnected at25 connecting points of layer 1, and each data point is mutuallycorrelated through the neural network training and weight determinationprocess. The 144 data points consist of 138 measured data points fromthe ultrasonic transducers, the data (139th) from the seat trackposition detecting sensor 10, the data (140th) from the reclining angledetecting sensor 9, the data (141st) from the weight sensor(s) 6, thedata (142^(nd)) from the heart beat sensor 31, the data (143^(rd)) fromthe capacitive sensor and the data (144^(th)) from the motion sensor.Each of the connecting points of the layer 1 has an appropriatethreshold value, and if the sum of measured data exceeds the thresholdvalue, each of the connecting points will output a signal to theconnecting points of layer 2.

The connecting points of the layer 2 comprises 20 points, and the 25connecting points of the layer 1 are appropriately interconnected as theconnecting points of the layer 2. Similarly, each data is mutuallycorrelated through the training process and weight determination asdescribed above and in the above referenced neural network texts. Eachof the 20 connecting points of the layer 2 has an appropriate thresholdvalue, and if the sum of measured data exceeds the threshold value, eachof the connecting points will output a signal to the connecting pointsof layer 3.

The connecting points of the layer 3 comprises 3 points, and theconnecting points of the layer 2 are interconnected at the connectingpoints of the layer 3 so that each data is mutually correlated asdescribed above. If the sum of the outputs of the connecting points oflayer 2 exceeds a threshold value, the connecting points of the latter 3will output Logic values (100), (010), and (001) respectively.

The threshold value of each connecting point is determined bymultiplying weight coefficients and summing up the results in sequence,and the aforementioned training process is to determine a weightcoefficient Wj so that the threshold value (ai) is a previouslydetermined output.

    ai=ΣWj·Xj(j=1 to N)

wherein Wj is the weight coefficient,

Xj is the data and

N is the number of samples.

Based on this result of the training, the neural network circuit 25generates the weights for the coefficients of the correlation functionor the algorithm (step S 7).

At the time the neural network circuit 25 has learned a suitable numberof patterns of the training data, the result of the training is testedby the test data. In the case where the rate of correct answers of theseated-state detecting unit based on this test data is unsatisfactory,the neural network circuit is further trained and the test is repeated.In this embodiment, the test was performed based on about 600,000 testpatterns. When the rate of correct test result answers was at about 98%,the training was ended.

The neural network circuit 25 has outputs 25a, 25b and 25c. Each of theoutputs 25a, 25b and 25c outputs a signal of logic 0 or 1 to a gatecircuit or algorithm 30. Based on the signals from the outputs 25a, 25band 25c, any one of these combination (100), (010) and (001) isobtained. In another preferred embodiment, all data for the empty seatwas removed from the training set and the empty seat case was determinedbased on the output of the weight sensor alone. This simplifies theneural network and improves its accuracy.

In this embodiment, the output (001) correspond to a vacant seat, a seatoccupied by an inanimate object or a seat occupied by a pet (VACANT),the output (010) corresponds to a rear facing child seat (RFCS) or anabnormally seated passenger (ASP), and the output (100) corresponds to anormally seated passenger (NSP) or a forward facing child seat (FFCS).

The gate circuit (seated-state evaluation circuit) 30 can be implementedby an electronic circuit or by a computer algorithm by those skilled inthe art and the details will not be presented here. The function of thegate circuit 30 is to remove the ambiguity that sometimes results whenultrasonic sensors and seat position sensors alone are used. Thisambiguity is that it is sometimes difficult to differentiate between arear facing child seat (RFCS) and an abnormally seated passenger (ASP),or between a normally seated passenger (NSP) and a forward facing childseat (FFCS). By the addition of one or more weight sensors in thefunction of acting as a switch when the weight is above or below 60lbs., it has been found that this ambiguity can be eliminated. The gatecircuit therefore takes into account the output of the neural networkand also the weight from the weight sensor(s) as being above or below 60lbs. and thereby separates the two cases just described and results infive discrete outputs.

Thus, the gate circuit 30 fulfills a role of outputting five kinds ofseated-state evaluation signals, based on a combination of three kindsof evaluation signals from the neural network 25 and superimposedinformation from the weight sensor(s). The five seated-state evaluationsignals are input to an airbag deployment determining circuit that ispart of the airbag system and will not be described here. Naturally, asdisclosed in the above reference patents and patent applications, theoutput of this system can also be used to activate a variety of lightsor alarms to indicate to the operator of the vehicle the seated state ofthe passenger. Naturally, the system that has been here described forthe passenger side is also applicable for the most part for the driverside.

In this embodiment, although the neural network circuit 25 has beenemployed as an evaluation circuit, the mapping data of the coefficientsof a correlation function may also be implemented or transferred to amicrocomputer to constitute the valuation circuit (see Step S 8 in FIG.6).

According to the seated-state detecting unit of the present invention,the identification of a vacant seat (VACANT), a rear facing child seat(RFCS), a forward facing child seat (FFCS), a normally seated adultpassenger (NSP), an abnormally seated adult passenger (ASP), can bereliably performed. Based on this identification, it is possible tocontrol a component, system or subsystem in the vehicle. For example, aregulation valve which controls the inflation or deflation of an airbagmay be controlled based on the evaluated identification of the occupantof the seat. This regulation valve may be of the digital or analog type.A digital regulation valve is one that is in either of two states, openor closed. The control of the flow is then accomplished by varying thetime that the valve is open and closed, i.e., the duty cycle.

Moreover, the seated-state detecting unit described above may be used ina component adjustment system and method described below when thepresence of a human being occupying the seat is detected.

The component adjustment system and methods in accordance with theinvention automatically and passively adjust the component based on themorphology of the occupant of the seat. As noted above, the adjustmentsystem may include the seated-state detecting unit described above sothat it will be activated if the seated-state detecting unit detectsthat an adult or child occupant is seated on the seat, i.e., theadjustment system will not operate if the seat is occupied by a childseat, pet or inanimate objects. Obviously, the same system can be usedfor any seat in the vehicle including the driver seat and the passengerseat(s). This adjustment system may incorporated the same components asthe seated-state detecting unit described above, i.e., the samecomponents may constitute a part of both the seated-state detecting unitand the adjustment system, e.g., the weight measuring means.

The adjustment system described herein, although improved over the priorart, will at best be approximate since two people, even if they areidentical in all other respects, may have a different preferred drivingposition or other preferred adjusted component location or orientation.A system that automatically adjusts the component, therefore, must learnfrom its errors. Thus, when a new occupant sits in the vehicle, forexample, the system automatically estimates the best location of thecomponent for that occupant and moves the component to that location,assuming it is not already at the best location. If the occupant changesthe location, the system must remember that change and incorporate itinto the adjustment the next time that person enters the vehicle and isseated in the same seat. Therefore, the system need not make a perfectselection the first time but it must remember the person and theposition the component was in for that person. The system, therefore,makes one, two or three measurements of morphological characteristics ofthe occupant and then adjusts the component based on an algorithm. Theoccupant will correct the adjustment and the next time that the systemmeasures the same measurements for those measurement characteristics, itwill set the component to the corrected position. As such, preferredcomponents for which the system in accordance with the invention is mostuseful are those which affect a driver of the vehicle and relate to thesensory abilities of the driver, i.e., the mirrors, the seat, thesteering wheel and steering column and accelerator, clutch and brakepedals.

The first characteristic used is a measurement of the height of theoccupant from the vehicle seat. This can be done by a sensor in theceiling of the vehicle but this becomes difficult since, even for thesame seat location, the head of the occupant will not be at the sameangle with respect to the seat and therefore the angle to a ceiling-mounted sensor is in general unknown at least as long as only oneceiling mounted sensor is used. This problem can be solved if two orthree sensors are used as described in more detail below. The simplestimplementation is to place the sensor in the seat. In the '320 patentmentioned above, a rear impact occupant protection apparatus isdisclosed which uses sensors mounted within the headrest. This samesystem can also be used to measure the height of the occupant from theseat and thus, for no additional cost assuming the rear impact occupantprotection system described in the '320 patent is provided, the firstmeasure of the occupant's morphology can be achieved. For someapplications, this may be sufficient since it is unlikely that twooperators will use the vehicle who have the same height. For otherimplementations, one or more additional measurements are used.

Referring now to FIG. 8, an automatic adjustment system for adjusting aseat (which is being used only as an example of a vehicle component) isshown generally at 100 with a movable headrest 111 and ultrasonic sensor120 and ultrasonic receiver 121 for measuring the height of the occupantof the seat. Power means such as motors 191, 192, and 193 connected tothe seat for moving the base of the seat, control means such as acontrol circuit or module 150 connected to the motors and a headrestactuation mechanism using servomotors 160 and 170, which may beservomotors, are also illustrated. The seat 110 and headrest 111 areshown in phantom. Vertical motion of the headrest 111 is accomplishedwhen a signal is sent from control module 150 to servomotor 160 througha wire 131. Servomotor 160 rotates lead screw 162 which engages with athreaded hole in member 164 causing it to move up or down depending onthe direction of rotation of the lead screw 162. Headrest support rods165 and 166 are attached to member 164 and cause the headrest 111 totranslate up or down with member 164. In this manner, the verticalposition of the headrest can be controlled as depicted by arrow A--A.Ultrasonic transmitter and receiver 120,121 may be replaced by otherappropriate wave-generating and receiving devices, such aselectromagnetic, active infrared transmitters and receivers

Wire 132 leads from control module 150 to servomotor 170 which rotateslead screw 172. Lead screw 172 engages with a threaded hole in shaft 173which is attached to supporting structures within the seat shown inphantom. The rotation of lead screw 172 rotates servo motor support 161,upon which servomotor 160 is situated, which in turn rotates headrestsupport rods 165 and 166 in slots 168 and 169 in the seat 110. Rotationof the servomotor support 161 is facilitated by a rod 171 upon which theservo motor support 161 is positioned. In this manner, the headrest 111is caused to move in the fore and aft direction as depicted by arrowB--B. Naturally there are other designs which accomplish the same effectin moving the headrest up and down and fore and aft.

The operation of the system is as follows. When an adult or childoccupant is seated on a seat containing the headrest and control systemdescribed above as determined by the neural network circuit 25, theultrasonic transmitter 120 emits ultrasonic energy which reflects off ofthe head of the occupant and is received by receiver 121. An electroniccircuit in control module 150 contains a microprocessor which determinesthe distance from the head of the occupant based on the time between thetransmission and reception of an ultrasonic pulse. Control module 150may be within the same microprocessor as neural network circuit 25 orseparate therefrom. The headrest 111 moves up and down until it findsthe top of the head and then the vertical position closest to the headof the occupant and then remains at that position. Based on the timedelay between transmission and reception of an ultrasonic pulse, thesystem can also determine the longitudinal distance from the headrest tothe occupant's head. Since the head may not be located precisely in linewith the ultrasonic sensors, or the occupant may be wearing a hat, coatwith a high collar, or may have a large hairdo, there may be some errorin this longitudinal measurement.

When an occupant sits on seat 110, the headrest 111 moves to find thetop of the occupant's head as discussed above. This is accomplishedusing an algorithm and a microprocessor which is part of control circuit150. The headrest 111 then moves to the optimum location for rear impactprotection as described in the above referenced '320 patent. Once theheight of the occupant has been measured, another algorithm in themicroprocessor in control circuit 150 compares the occupant's measuredheight with a table representing the population as a whole and from thistable, the appropriate positions for the seat corresponding to theoccupant's height is selected. For example, if the occupant measured 33inches from the top of the seat bottom, this might correspond to a 85%human, depending on the particular seat and statistical tables of humanmeasurements.

Careful study of each particular vehicle model provides the data for thetable of the location of the seat to properly position the eyes of theoccupant within the "eye-ellipse", the steering wheel within acomfortable reach of the occupant's hands and the pedals within acomfortable reach of the occupant's feet, based on his or her size, etc.

Once the proper position has been determined by control circuit 150,signals are sent to motors 191, 192, and 193 to move the seat to thatposition. If during some set time period after the seat has beenpositioned, the operator changes these adjustments, the new positions ofthe seat are stored in association with an occupant height class in asecond table within control circuit 150. When the occupant againoccupies the seat and his or her height has once again been determined,the control circuit will find an entry in the second table which takesprecedence over the basic, original table and the seat returns to theadjusted position. When the occupant leaves the vehicle, or even whenthe engine is shut off and the door opened, the seat can be returned toa neutral position which provides for easy entry and exit from thevehicle.

The seat 110 also contains two control switch assemblies 180 and 182 formanually controlling the position of the seat 110 and headrest 111. Theseat control switches 180 permit the occupant to adjust the position ofthe seat if he or she is dissatisfied with the position selected by thealgorithm. The headrest control switches 182 permit the occupant toadjust the position of the headrest in the event that the calculatedposition is uncomfortably close to or far from the occupant's head. Awoman with a large hairdo might find that the headrest automaticallyadjusts so as to contact her hairdo. This adjustment she might findannoying and could then position the headrest further from her head. Forthose vehicles which have a seat memory system for associating the seatposition with a particular occupant, which has been assumed above, theposition of the headrest relative to the occupant's head could also berecorded. Later, when the occupant enters the vehicle, and the seatautomatically adjusts to the recorded preference, the headrest willsimilarly automatically adjust (FIG. 17B).

The height of the occupant, although probably the best initialmorphological characteristic, may not be sufficient especially fordistinguishing one driver from another when they are approximately thesame height. A second characteristic, the occupant's weight, can also bereadily determined from sensors mounted within the seat in a variety ofways as shown in FIG. 9 which is a perspective view of the seat shown inFIG. 8 with a displacement or weight sensor 200 shown mounted onto theseat. Displacement sensor 200 is supported from supports 202 and 204.Referring now to FIG. 9A, which is a view of the apparatus of FIG. 9taken along line 9A--9A, seat 230 is constructed from a foam layer 232which is supported by a spring system 234 which is in contract with thedisplacement sensor 200. The displacement sensor 200 comprises anelongate cable 205 retained at one end by support 210 and a displacementsensor 220 situated at an opposite end. This displacement sensor 220 canbe any of a variety of such devices including, but not limited to, alinear rheostat, a linear variable differential transformer (LVDT), alinear variable capacitor, or any other length measuring device.Alternately, the cable can be replaced with a spring and the tension inthe spring measured using a strain gage or other force measuring deviceor the strain in the seat support structure can be measured byappropriately placing strain gages on one or more of the seat supports.One seat design is illustrated in FIG. 9. Similar weight measurementsystems can be designed for other seat designs. Also, some products areavailable which can approximately measure weight based on pressuremeasurements made at or near the upper seat surface 236. It should benoted that the weight measured here will not be the entire weight of theoccupant since some of the occupant's weight will be supported by his orher feet which are resting on the floor or pedals. As noted above, theweight may also be measured by the weight sensor(s) 6 described above inthe seated-state detecting unit.

As weight is placed on the seat surface 236, it is supported by spring234 which deflects downward causing cable 205 of the sensor 200 to beginto stretch axially. Using a LVDT as an example of length measuringdevice 220, the cable 205 pulls on rod 221 tending to remove rod 221from cylinder 223 (FIG. 9B). The movement of rod 221 out of cylinder 223is resisted by a spring 222 which returns the rod 221 into the cylinder223 when the weight is removed from the seat surface 236. The amountwhich the rod 221 is removed from the cylinder 223 is measured by theamount of coupling between the windings 226 and 227 of the transformeras is well understood by those skilled in the art. LVDT's arecommercially available devices. In this matter, the deflection of theseat can be measured which is a measurement of the weight on the seat.The exact relationship between weight and LVDT output is generallydetermined experimentally for this application.

By use of a combination of weight and height, the driver of the vehiclecan in general be positively identified among the class of drivers whooperate the vehicle. Thus, when a particular driver first uses thevehicle, the seat will be automatically adjusted to the proper position.If the driver changes that position within a prescribed time period, thenew seat position will be stored in the second table for the particulardriver's height and weight. When the driver reenters the vehicle and hisor her height and weight are again measured, the seat will go to thelocation specified in the second table if one exists. Otherwise, thelocation specified in the first table will be used.

This system provides an identification of the driver based on twomorphological characteristics which is adequate for most cases. Asadditional features of the vehicle interior identification andmonitoring system described in the above referenced patent applicationsare implemented, it will be possible to obtain additional morphologicalmeasurements of the driver which will provide even greater accuracy indriver identification. Two characteristics may not be sufficient to relyon for theft and security purposes, however, many other driverpreferences can still be added to seat position with this level ofoccupant recognition accuracy. These include the automatic selection ofa preferred radio station, vehicle temperature, steering wheel andsteering column position, etc.

One advantage of using only the height and weight is that it avoids thenecessity of the seat manufacturer from having to interact with theheadliner manufacturer, or other component suppliers, since all of themeasuring transducers are in the seat. This two characteristic system isgenerally sufficient to distinguish drivers that normally drive aparticular vehicle. This system costs little more than the memorysystems now in use and is passive, i.e., it does not require action onthe part of the occupant after his initial adjustment has been made.

Instead of measuring the height and weight of the occupant, it is alsopossible to measure a combination of any two morphologicalcharacteristics and during a training phase, derive a relationshipbetween the occupancy of the seat, e.g., adult occupant, child occupant,etc., and the data of the two morphological characteristic. Thisrelationship may be embodied within a neural network so that during use,by measuring the two morphological characteristics, the occupancy of theseat can be determined.

Naturally, there are other methods for measuring the height of thedriver such as placing the transducers at other locations in thevehicle. Some alternatives are shown in FIG. 10 which is a side planview wherein two height measuring sensors 320, 321 are shown, sensor 321being mounted into the headliner above the occupant's head and the othersensor 320 being mounted onto the A-pillar. A sensor as used herein isthe combination of two transducers (a transmitter and a receiver) or onetransducer which can both transmit and receive. The headliner is thetrim which provides the interior surface to the roof of the vehicle andthe A-pillar is the roof-supporting member which is on either side ofthe windshield and on which the front doors are hinged. Thesetransducers may already be present because of other implementations ofthe vehicle interior identification and monitoring system described inthe above referenced patent applications. In this case, the use of bothtransducers provides a more accurate determination of location of thehead of the driver. Using transducer 321 alone, the exact position ofthe head is ambiguous since the transducer measures the distance to thehead regardless of what direction the head is. By knowing the distancefrom the head to transducer 320, the ambiguity is substantially reduced.This argument is of course dependent on the use of ultrasonictransducers. Optical transducers using CCD or CMOS arrays are nowbecoming price competitive and, as pointed out in the above referencedpatent applications, will be the technology of choice for interiorvehicle monitoring. A single CCD array of 160 by 160 pixels, forexample, coupled with the appropriate pattern recognition software, canbe used to form an image of the head of an occupant and accuratelylocate the head for the purposes of this invention.

FIG. 10 also illustrates a system where the seatbelt 330 has anadjustable upper anchorage point 331 which is automatically adjusted bya motor 332 to a location optimized based on the height of the occupant.The calculations for this feature and the appropriate control circuitrycan also be located in control module 301 or elsewhere if appropriate.

Many luxury automobiles today have the ability to control the angle ofthe seat back as well as a lumbar support. These additional motions ofthe seat can also be controlled by the seat adjustment system inaccordance with the invention. FIG. 11 is a view of the seat of FIG. 8showing motors 481 and 482 for changing the tilt of the seat back andthe lumbar support. Three motors 482 are used to adjust the lumbarsupport in this implementation. The same procedure is used for theseadditional motions as described for FIG. 8 above.

An initial table is provided based on the optimum positions for varioussegments of the population. For example, for some applications the tablemay contain a setting value for each five percentile of the populationfor each of the 6 possible seat motions, fore and aft, up and down,total seat tilt, seat back angle, lumbar position, and headrest positionfor a total of 120 table entries. The second table similarly wouldcontain the personal preference modified values of the 6 positionsdesired by a particular driver.

In FIG. 8, the ultrasonic transducers 120 and 121 were described as onebeing a transmitter and the other being a receiver. For someapplications, it is desirable to use both transducers as bothtransducers and receivers. Similarly, a third combination transmitterand receiver 122 may also be utilized as shown in FIG. 11. Thisarrangement permits many of the advantages of a phased array system tobe achieved.

The resolution of a transducer is proportional to the ratio of thewavelength to the diameter of the transmitter. Once three transmittersand receivers are used, the approximate equivalent single transmitterand receiver is one which has a diameter approximately equal to theshortest distance between any pair of transducers. In this case, theequivalent diameter is equal to the distance between transmitter 120 or121 and 122. This provides far greater resolution and, by controllingthe phase between signals sent by the transmitters, the direction of theequivalent ultrasonic beam can be controlled. Thus, the head of thedriver can be scanned with great accuracy and a map made of theoccupant's head. Using this technology plus an appropriate patternrecognition algorithm, such as a neural network, an accurate location ofthe driver's head can be found even when the driver's head is partiallyobscured by a hat, coat, or hairdo. This also provides at least oneother identification morphological characteristic which can be used tofurther identify the occupant, namely the diameter of the driver's head.

With a knowledge of the weight of an occupant, additional improvementscan be made to automobile and truck seat designs. In particular, thestiffness of the seat can be adjusted so as to provide the same level ofcomfort for light and for heavy occupants. The damping of occupantmotions, which heretofore has been largely neglected, can also bereadily adjusted as shown on FIG. 12 which is a view of the seat of FIG.8 showing one of several possible arrangements for changing thestiffness and the damping of the seat. In the seat bottom 520, there isa container 515, the conventional foam and spring design has beenreplaced by an inflated rectangular container very much like an airmattress which contains a cylindrical inner container 518 which isfilled with an open cell urethane foam. An adjustable orifice 525connects the two container 515,518 so that air can flow in a controlledmanner therebetween. The amount of opening of orifice 525 is controlledby control circuit 150. A small air compressor 555 controls the pressurein container 515 under control of the control circuit 150. A pressuretransducer 560 monitors the pressure within container 515 and inputsthis information into control circuit 150.

The operation of the system is as follows. When an occupant sits on theseat, pressure initially builds up in the seat container 515 which givesan accurate measurement of the weight of the occupant. Control circuit150, using an algorithm and a microprocessor, then determines anappropriate stiffness for the seat and adds pressure to achieve thatstiffness. The pressure equalizes between the two containers 515 and 518through the flow of air through orifice 525. Control circuit 150 alsodetermines an appropriate damping for the occupant and adjusts theorifice 525 to achieve that damping. As the vehicle travels down theroad and the road roughness causes the seat to move up and down, theinertial force on the seat by the occupant causes the air pressure torise and fall in container 518 and also, but, much less so, in container515 since the occupant sits mainly above container 518 and container 515is much larger than container 518. The major deflection in the seattakes place first in container 518 which pressurizes and transfers airto container 515 through orifice 525. The size of the orifice openingdetermines the flow rate between the two containers and therefore thedamping of the motion of the occupant. Since this opening is controlledby control circuit 150, the amount of damping can thereby also becontrolled. Thus, in this simple structure, both the stiffness anddamping can be controlled to optimize the seat for a particular driver.Naturally, if the driver does not like the settings made by controlcircuit 150, he or she can change them to provide a stiffer or softerride.

The stiffness of a seat is the change in force divided by the change indeflection. This is important for many reasons, one of which is that itcontrols the natural vibration frequency of the seat occupantcombination. It is important that this be different from the frequencyof vibrations which are transmitted to the seat from the vehicle inorder to minimize the up and down motions of the occupant. The dampingis a force which opposes the motion of the occupant and which isdependent on the velocity of relative motion between the occupant andthe seat bottom. It thus removes energy and minimizes the oscillatorymotion of the occupant. These factors are especially important in truckswhere the vibratory motions of the driver's seat, and thus the driver,have caused many serious back injuries among truck drivers.

In an automobile, there is an approximately fixed vertical distancebetween the optimum location of the occupant's eyes and the location ofthe pedals. The distant from a driver's eyes to his or her feet, on theother hand, is not the same for all people. An individual driver nowcompensates for this discrepancy by moving the seat and by changing theangle between his or hers legs and body. For both small and largedrivers, this discrepancy cannot be fully compensated for and as aresult, their eyes are not appropriately placed. A similar problemexists with the steering wheel. To help correct these problems, thepedals and steering column should be movable as illustrated in FIG. 13which is a plan view similar to that of FIG. 10 showing a driver anddriver seat with an automatically adjustable steering column and pedalsystem which is adjusted based on the morphology of the driver. In FIG.13, a motor 650 is connected to and controls the position of thesteering column and another motor 660 is connected to and controls theposition of the pedals. Both motors 650,660 are coupled to andcontrolled by control circuit 150 wherein now the basic table ofsettings includes values for both the pedals and steering columnlocations.

As various parts of the vehicle interior identification and monitoringsystem described in the above reference patent applications areimplemented, a variety of transmitting and receiving transducers will bepresent in the vehicle passenger compartment. If several of thesetransducers are ultrasonic transmitters and receivers, they can beoperated in a phased array manner, as described above for the headrest,to permit precise distance measurements and mapping of the components ofthe passenger compartment. This is illustrated in FIG. 14 which is aperspective view of the interior of the passenger compartment showing avariety of transmitters and receivers, 700-706 which can be used in aphased array system. In addition, information can be transmitted betweenthe transducers using coded signals in a ultrasonic network through thevehicle compartment airspace. If one of these sensors is an optical CCDor CMOS array, the location of the driver's eyes can be accuratelydetermined and the results sent to the seat ultrasonically. Obviously,many other possibilities exist.

The eye ellipse discussed above is illustrated at 810 in FIG. 15, whichis a view similar to FIG. 1, showing the occupant's eyes and the seatadjusted to place the eyes at a particular vertical position for properviewing through the windshield and rear view mirror. Many systems arenow under development to improve vehicle safety and driving ease. Forexample, right vision systems are being tested which project an enhancedimage of the road ahead of the vehicle onto the windshield in a"heads-up display". The main problem with the systems now being testedis that the projected image does not precisely overlap the image as seenthrough the windshield. This parallax causes confusion in the driver andcan only be corrected if the location of the driver's eyes is accuratelyknown. One method of solving this problem is to use the passive seatadjustment system described herein to place the occupant's eyes at theoptimum location as described above. Once this has been accomplished, inaddition to solving the parallax problem, the eyes are properly locatedwith respect to the rear view mirror 820 and little if any adjustment isrequired in order for the driver to have the proper view of what isbehind the vehicle.

Several systems are in development for determining the location of anoccupant and modifying the deployment of the airbag based of his or herposition. These systems are called "smart airbags". The passive seatcontrol system in accordance with this invention can also be used forthis purpose as illustrated in FIG. 16. This figure is a view similar toFIG. 1 showing an inflated airbag 900 and an arrangement for controllingboth the flow of gas into and out of the airbag during a crash. Thedetermination is made based on height sensors 120, 121 and 122 locatedin the headrest, a weight sensor 200 in the seat and the location of theseat which is known by control circuit 150 (See, FIGS. 8, 9 and 9A).Other smart airbags systems rely only on the position of the occupantdetermined from various position sensors using ultrasonics or opticalsensors.

The weight sensor coupled with the height sensor and the occupant'svelocity relative to the vehicle, as determined by the occupant positionsensors, provides information as to the amount of energy which theairbag will need to absorb during the impact of the occupant with theairbag. This, along with the location of the occupant relative to theairbag, is then used to determine the amount of gas which is to beinjected into the airbag during deployment and the size of the exitorifices which control the rate of energy dissipation as the occupant isinteracting with the airbag during the crash. For example, if anoccupant is particularly heavy then it is desirable to increase theamount of gas, and thus the initial pressure, in the airbag toaccommodate the larger force which will be required to arrest therelative motion of the occupant. Also, the size of the exit orificesshould be reduced, since there will be a larger pressure tending toforce the gas out of the orifices, in order to prevent the bag frombottoming out before the occupant's relative velocity is arrested.Similarly, for a small occupant the initial pressure would be reducedand the size of the exit orifices increased. If, on the other hand, theoccupant is already close to the airbag then the amount of gas injectedinto the airbag needs to be reduced.

There are many ways of varying the amount of gas injected into theairbag some of which are covered in the patent literature and include,for example, inflators where the amount of gas generated and the rate ofgeneration is controllable. For example, in a particular hybrid inflatormanufactured by the Allied Signal Corporation, two pyrotechnic chargesare available to heat the stored gas in the inflator. Either or both ofthe pyrotechnic charges can be ignited and the timing between theignitions can be controlled to significantly vary the rate of gas flowto the airbag.

The flow of gas out of the airbag is traditionally done through fixeddiameter orifices placed in the bag fabric. Some attempts have been madeto provide a measure of control through such measures as blowout patchesapplied to the exterior of the airbag. Other systems were disclosed inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/541,464 filed Feb. 9, 1989, nowabandoned. FIG. 16A illustrates schematically an inflator 910 generatinggas to fill airbag 900 through control valve 920. The flow of gas out ofairbag 900 is controlled by exit control valve 930. The valve 930 can beimplemented in many different ways including, for example, a motoroperated valve located adjacent the inflator and in fluid communicationwith the airbag or a digital flow control valve as discussed above. Whencontrol circuit 150 determines the size and weight of the occupant, theseat position and the relative velocity of the occupant, it thendetermines the appropriate opening for the exit valve 930, which iscoupled to the control circuit 150. A signal is then sent from controlcircuit 150 to the motor controlling this valve which provides theproper opening.

In a like manner, other parameters can also be adjusted, such as thedirection of the airbag, by properly positioning the angle and locationof the steering wheel relative to the driver. If seatbelt pretensionersare used, the amount of tension in the seatbelt or the force at whichthe seatbelt spools out, for the case of force limiters, could also beadjusted based on the occupant morphological characteristics determinedby the system of this invention.

Once the morphology of the driver and the seat position is known, manyother objects in the vehicle can be automatically adjusted to conform tothe occupant. An automatically adjustable seat armrest, a cup holder,the cellular phone, or any other objects with which the driver interactscan be now moved to accommodate the driver. This is in addition to thepersonal preference items such as the radio station, temperature, etc.discussed above.

Once the system of this invention is implemented, additional featuresbecome possible such as a seat which automatically makes slightadjustments to help alleviate fatigue or to account for a change ofposition of the driver in the seat, or a seat which automaticallychanges position slightly based on the time of day. Many people preferto sit more upright when driving at night, for example. Other similarimprovements based on a knowledge of the occupant morphology will nowbecome obvious to those skilled in the art.

Although several preferred embodiments are illustrated and describedabove, there are other possible combinations using different sensorswhich measure either the same or different morphologicalcharacteristics, such as knee position, of an occupant to accomplish thesame or similar goals as those described herein. There are also numerousadditional applications in addition to those described above. Thisinvention is not limited to the above embodiments and should bedetermined by the following claims.

It should be mentioned that the adjustment system may be used inconjunction with each vehicle seat. In this case, if a seat isdetermined to be unoccupied, then the processor means may be designed toadjust the seat for the benefit of other occupants, i.e., if a frontpassenger side seat is unoccupied but the rear passenger side seat isoccupied, then adjustment system might adjust the front seat for thebenefit of the rear-seated passenger, e.g., move the seat base forward.

What is claimed is:
 1. An adjustment system for adjusting a component ofa vehicle based on occupancy of a seat, comprising:at least one wavesensor for receiving waves from an area of the seat in the passengercompartment and generating an output representative of the wavesreceived by said at least one wave sensor; weight measurement meansassociated with the seat for measuring the weight applied onto the seatand generating an output representative of the measured weight appliedonto the seat; adjustment means arranged in connection with thecomponent for adjusting the component, and processor means for receivingthe outputs from said at least one wave sensor and said weight measuringmeans and evaluating the seated-state of the seat based thereon todetermine whether the seat is occupied by an object and if the seat isoccupied by an object, to identify the object in the seat and based atleast on the identification of the object, directing said adjustmentmeans to adjust the component, said processor means including a functioncorrelating the outputs from said at least one wave sensor and saidweight measuring means and the seated-state of the seat and beinggenerated by a neural network circuit, the function being executed usingthe outputs from said at least one wave sensor and said weight measuringmeans as input to determine the saeted-state of the seat.
 2. The systemof claim 1, wherein said at least one wave sensor is structured andarranged to transmit waves into the passenger compartment toward theseat.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein said at least one wave sensor isan ultrasonic sensor structured and arranged to receive ultrasonicwaves.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein said at least one wave sensoris an electromagnetic sensor structured and arranged to receiveelectromagnetic waves.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the componentis at least one of a backrest of a seat and a bottom portion of a seat.6. The system of claim 1, wherein the component is at least one mirrorselected from a group consisting of a rear view mirror, a driver sidemirror and a passenger side mirror.
 7. The system of claim 1, whereinthe component is selected from a group consisting of a steering columnand a steering wheel.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the component isat least one pedal selected from a group consisting of an acceleratorpedal, a clutch pedal and a brake pedal.
 9. The system of claim 1,wherein the component is a valve for regulating the flow of gas into orout of an airbag.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein said processormeans comprise a microcomputer into which the function correlating theoutputs from said at least one wave sensor and said weight measuringmeans and the seated-state of the seat is incorporated.
 11. The systemof claim 1, further comprising a seat track position detecting sensorfor determining the position of a seat track of the seat and generatingan output representative of the position of the seat track of the seat,said processor means receiving the outputs from said at least one wavesensor, said weight measuring means and said seat track position sensorand evaluating the seated-state of the seat based thereon.
 12. Thesystem of claim 1, further comprising a reclining angle detecting sensorfor determining the reclining angle of the seat back and generating anoutput representative of the reclined angle of the seat back, saidprocessor means receiving the outputs from said at least one wavesensor, said weight measuring means and said reclining angle detectingsensor and evaluating the seated-state of the seat based thereon. 13.The system of claim 1, further comprising a heart beat sensor fordetecting the heart beat of the occupant and generating an outputrepresentative thereof, said processor means receiving the outputs fromsaid at least one wave sensor, said weight measuring means and saidheart beat sensor and evaluating the seated-state of the seat basedthereon.
 14. The system of claim 1, further comprising a capacitivesensor arranged in connection with the seat for detecting the presenceof the occupant and generating an output representative of the presenceof the occupant, said processor means receiving the outputs from said atleast one wave sensor, said weight measuring means and said capacitivesensor and evaluating the seated-state of the seat based thereon. 15.The system of claim 1, further comprising a motion sensor for detectingmovement of the occupant and generating an output representativethereof, said processor means receiving the outputs from said at leastone wave sensor, said weight measuring means and said motion sensor andevaluating the seated-state of the seat based thereon.
 16. The system ofclaim 1, wherein said weight measuring means comprise a sensorstructured and arranged to identify an adult or a child based on acomparison of the measured weight with a reference value.
 17. The systemof claim 1, further comprisingheight measuring means for measuring theheight of the occupant of the seat from the seat, said processor meansbeing coupled to said height measuring means and directing said heightmeasuring means to measure the height of the occupant from the seat whenthe occupant is determined to be unrestrained by a child seat, saidprocessor means further being arranged to direct said adjustment meansto adjust the component based on the output of said height measuringmeans and on the output of said weight measuring means representative ofthe measured weight applied onto the seat.
 18. The system of claim 1,further comprisingheight measuring means for measuring the height of theoccupant of the seat from the seat, said processor means being coupledto said height measuring means and directing said height measuring meansto measure the height of the occupant from the seat when the occupant isdetermined to be unrestrained by a child seat, said processor meansfurther being arranged to direct said adjustment means to adjust thecomponent based on the output of said height measuring means.
 19. Thesystem of claim 18, wherein said seat further comprises a headrest, saidheight-measuring means being attached to or at least partiallyincorporated within said headrest.
 20. The system of claim 18, whereinthe vehicle has a headliner and said height measuring means are attachedto said headliner.
 21. The system of claim 18, wherein the vehicle has aroof including support pillars and said height measuring means areattached to at least one of said support pillars.
 22. The system ofclaim 1, wherein said weight measuring means are attached to the seat.23. A method for adjusting a component of a vehicle based on occupancyof a seat, comprising the steps of:receiving waves from an area of theseat in the passenger compartment and generating an outputrepresentative of the received waves; measuring the weight applied ontothe seat and generating an output representative of the measured weightapplied onto the seat; evaluating the seated-state of the seat based onthe outputs representative of the received waves and the measured weightapplied onto the seat to determine whether the seat is occupied by anobject and if the seat is occupied by an object, to identify the objectin the seat, and adjusting the component based on the evaluation of theseated-state thereof, the step of evaluating the seated-sate of the seatcomprising the steps of:generating a function correlating the outputsrepresentative of the received waves and the measured weight and theseated-state of the seat in a neural network circuit, and executing thefunction using the outputs representative of the received waves and themeasured weight as input.
 24. The method of claim 23, wherein the stepof evaluating the seated-state of the seat further comprises the stepof:incorporating the correlation function into a microcomputer.
 25. Themethod of claim 23, further comprising the steps of:determining theposition of a seat track of the seat and generating an outputrepresentative of the position of the seat track of the seat, andevaluating the seated-state of the seat based on the outputsrepresentative of the received waves and the measured weight and thedetermined position of the seat track.
 26. The method of claim 23,further comprising the steps of:determining the reclining angle of theseat and generating an output representative of the reclined angle ofthe seat, and evaluating the seated-state of the seat based on theoutputs representative of the received waves and the measured weight andthe determined reclining angle of the seat.
 27. The method of claim 23,further comprising the steps of:comparing the output representative ofthe measured weight with a reference value, and identifying an adult ora child based on the comparison of the measured weight with thereference value.
 28. In a motor vehicle having a passenger compartmentincluding a seat having a headrest at least one component eachadjustable by an occupant of the seat, and respective control means forcontrolling adjustment of the at least one component, an automaticadjustment system comprising:first measurement means for measuring afirst morphological characteristic of the occupant and generating afirst signal based on said first measured morphological characteristic,the first morphological characteristic being the height of the occupantfrom a bottom of the seat, said first measurement means comprising atleast one transducer arranged in and fixed relative to the headrest andstructured and arranged to at least receive waves reflected oremananting from the occupant of the seat and displacement means formoving the headrest to a plurality of different positions to therebyenable the height of the occupant to be determined based on the wavesreflected from the occupant and received by said at least onetransducer, second measurement means for measuring a secondmorphological characteristic of the occupant different than said firstmorphological characteristic and generating a second signal based onsaid second measured morphological characteristic, and a processor fordetermining an optimum position or operation of the at least onecomponent for the occupant based on said first and second measuredmorphological characteristics, said processor providing a control signalto said respective control means to adjust the at least one component tothe optimum position or to provide the optimum operation.
 29. The systemof claim 28, wherein the component is at least one of a backrest of aseat and a bottom portion of a seat and said processor determines anoptimum position thereof.
 30. The system of claim 28, wherein thecomponent is at least one mirror selected from a group consisting of arear view mirror, a driver side mirror and a passenger side mirror andsaid processor determines an optimum position thereof.
 31. The system ofclaim 28, wherein the component is selected from a group consisting of asteering column and a steering wheel and said processor determines anoptimum position thereof.
 32. The system of claim 28, wherein thecomponent is at least one pedal selected from a group consisting of anaccelerator pedal, a clutch pedal and a brake pedal and said processordetermines an optimum position thereof.
 33. The system of claim 28,wherein the component is a valve for regulating the flow of gas into orout of an airbag and said processor determines optimum operationthereof.
 34. The system of claim 28, wherein the second morphologicalcharacteristic is selected from a group consisting of the weight of theoccupant, the length of the occupant's arms, the length of theoccupant's legs and the inclination of the occupant's back relative tothe seat.
 35. The system of claim 28, wherein the second morphologicalcharacteristic is the inclination of the occupant's back relative to theseat.
 36. The system of claim 28, wherein the second morphologicalcharacteristic is the length of the occupant's legs.
 37. The system ofclaim 28, wherein the second morphological characteristic is the lengthof the occupant's arms.
 38. In a motor vehicle having a passengercompartment including a seat having a headrest, at least one componenteach adjustable by an occupant of the seat, and respective control meansfor controlling adjustment of the at least one component, a method forautomatically adjustment the component comprising the steps of:measuringa first morphological characteristic of the occupant and generating afirst signal based on said first measured morphological characteristic,said first morphological characteristic being the height of the occupantfrom a bottom of the seat, said step of measuring the height of theoccupant from the bottom of the seat comprising the steps ofarranging atleast one transducer in and fixed relative to the headrest, the at leastone transducer receiving waves reflected or emanating from the occupantof the seat, and displacing the headrest to a plurality of differentpositions to thereby enable the height of the occupant to be determinedbased on the waves reflected from the occupant and received by the atleast one transducer, measuring a second morphological characteristic ofthe occupant different than said first morphological characteristic andgenerating a second signal based on said second measured morphologicalcharacteristic, determining an optimum position or operation of the atleast one component for the occupant based on said first and secondmeasured morphological characteristics, and providing a control signalto said respective control means to adjust the at least one component tothe determined optimum position or to provide the optimum operation. 39.The method of claim 38, wherein the component is at least one of abackrest of a seat and a bottom portion of a seat that is adjusted bysaid control means to the optimum position.
 40. The method of claim 38,wherein the component is at least one mirror selected from a groupconsisting of a rear view mirror, a driver side mirror and a passengerside mirror which is adjusted by said control means to the optimumposition.
 41. The method of claim 38, wherein the component is selectedfrom a group consisting of a steering column and a steering wheel whichis adjusted by said control means to the optimum position.
 42. Themethod of claim 38, wherein the component is at least one pedal selectedfrom a group consisting of an accelerator pedal, a clutch pedal and abrake pedal which is adjusted by said control means to the optimumposition.
 43. The method of claim 38, wherein the component is a valvefor regulating the flow of gas into or out of an airbag that is adjustedby said control means to provide the optimum operation thereof.
 44. Themethod of claim 38, further comprising the step of:selecting the secondmorphological characteristics from a group consisting of the weight ofthe occupant, the length of the occupant's arms, the length of theoccupant's legs and the inclination of the occupant's back relative tothe seat.
 45. The method of claim 38, wherein the second morphologicalcharacteristic is the inclination of the occupant's back relative to theseat.
 46. The method of claim 38, wherein the second morphologicalcharacteristic is the length of the occupant's legs.
 47. The method ofclaim 38, wherein the second morphological characteristic is the lengthof the occupant's arms.